[108] The incendiaries formed a veritable army, composed of returned
convicts, the very dregs of the prisons, pale, thin lads, who looked
like ghosts, and old women, that looked like horrible witches; their
number amounted to eight thousand! This army had its chiefs, and each
detachment was charged with the firing of a quarter. The order for the
conflagration of public edifices bore the stamp of the Commune, and of
the Central Committee, and the seal of the delegate at the Ministry of
War. For the private houses more expeditive means were used. Small
tickets, of the size of postage stamps, were found pasted upon walls
of houses in different parts of Paris, with the letters B.P.B. (_bon
pour brûler_), literally, good for burning. Some of the tickets were
square, others oval, with a bacchante’s head in the centre. They were
affixed on spots designated by the chiefs. Every _pétroleuse_ was to
receive ten francs for each house she fired. Sept. 5,1871. Amongst the
insurgents tried at Versailles, three pétroleuses were condemned to
death, and one to imprisonment for life, a host of others being
transported or otherwise punished.
[109] On the Wednesday succeeding the explosion of the powder-magazine
in the garden of the Luxembourg, which unroofed a portion of the
palace, and destroyed the windows, and did fearful damage to the
surrounding houses, all the Communeux disappeared from the
neighbourhood. The following night four men returned, bringing a
quantity of petroleum with them. They gave orders that the six hundred
wounded men who were then lying in the Palace should be taken away
immediately. They had commenced their sinister project, and were
pouring the petroleum about in the cellars, when the soldiers of the
Brigade Paturel were informed of it, and arrived in time to prevent
its execution. The criminals were taken and shot on the spot.